Hun Sen rules out terrorism

via CAAI

Nov 23, 2010

DEADLY STAMPEDE IN PHNOM PENH

WORST TRAGEDY IN 31 YEARS

'This is the biggest tragedy in more than 31 years after the Pol Pot regime.' - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, referring to the murderous Khmer Rouge, whose agrarian revolution from 1975-1979 killed an estimated 1.7 million people in Cambodia under the command of Pol Pot

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the country to remain calm and ruled out terrorism as a cause for the catastrophe, which took place on the third and final day of the Bon Om Touk water festival, which celebrates the reversing of the current of the Tonle Sap River.

'It needs further investigation,' he said, adding that Thursday would be a national day of mourning.

Diamond Island, a small island owned by a local bank, is equipped with newly built conference and exhibition centres, restaurants and entertainment areas.

It is popular among women shoppers, especially during the water festival when retailers offer discounts on clothing and other goods.

Many of the victims had been eating in outdoor restaurants or had attended a concert and were crossing the bridge to return to the city when the stampede started. An estimated 5 million of Cambodia's 14 million people visit the capital during the festival each year.

The stampede was the world's worst since January 2006, when 362 Muslim pilgrims were crushed to death while performing a stoning ritual at the entrance to the Jamarat Bridge near Mecca in Saudi Arabia. -- REUTERS